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Going beyond the borders with Another Europe

“While this is not an explicitly political
exhibition, I do hope that it will go some way to reminding the audience
that we share deep cultural roots which go beyond geographic borders or
treaty arrangements," says curator Hamish Park

“In many ways Another Europe
questions whether Europe is other at all,” says Hamish Park. “While
this is not an explicitly political exhibition, I do hope that it will
go some way to reminding the audience that we share deep cultural roots
which go beyond geographic borders or treaty arrangements, and that what
we share is as significant as what makes us distinct.”

Park has just curated an exhibition called Another Europe which
goes on show soon around Kings Cross, London, mounted on
specially-designed concrete benches. Featuring one photograph from each
of the 28 European Union member
states, shot by a photographer from the country, it’s been organised by
the Austrian Cultural Forum London to celebrate both the European Year of Cultural Heritage, and Austria’s presidency of the EU council.

It’s also interesting timing for this exhibition in the UK, as the country negotiates Brexit – the
ACF had been considering staging an outdoor exhibition about Austria
for around a year, says Park, but when the UK announced it was to leave
the EU on 29 March 2019, the project morphed into a project on Europe. “I
think that it is extremely important that we continue to maintain an
openness to cultural developments in Europe and our significant cultural
links with all member states of the EU,” says Park.

To do so he’s picked out image-makers
with a variety of photographic styles, and balanced established names –
such as Markéta Luskačová (Czech Republic), Simon Roberts (UK), Massimo
Vitali (Italy), and Henk Wildschut (Netherlands) – with emerging
artists. When inviting
submissions, Park encouraged photographers to reflect broadly on the
theme of cultural heritage, hoping that the exhibition would reflect a
wide range of responses.

“In some ways that was the most
exciting point because it was then that my interpretation of the theme
was challenged by the photographer’s interpretation of theme,” says
Park. “The work I received forced me to recalibrate my conception of
what I thought the exhibition should be about against theirs.”